European squid
| European Squid | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Cephalopoda |
| Order: | Teuthida |
| Family: | Loliginidae |
| Genus: | Loligo |
| Species: | L. vulgaris |
| Binomial name | |
| Loligo vulgaris Lamarck, 1798 |
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The European squid (Loligo vulgaris) is a large squid belonging to the family Loliginidae. It occurs abundantly in coastal waters from the North Sea to at least the west coast of Africa. This species lives from sea level to depths of 500 m (1,600 ft). Its mantle is up to 40 cm (16 in) long. The species is extensively exploited by commercial fisheries.
Loligo reynaudii, the Cape Hope Squid, was previously treated as a subspecies of L. vulgaris.[1]
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[edit] Distribution
Throughout the Mediterranean Sea and in the eastern Atlantic Ocean from the North Sea to the Gulf of Guinea. In British waters it is maily found in the Irish Sea, along the south coast of England and off northern Scotland.[2]
[edit] Descrption
The European squid has a long, moderately slender and cylindrical body rhomboid funs which are two thirds of the mantle length. The posterior border is slightly concave. The head is relatively small and has large eyes which are covered with a transparent membrane. Thos species has ten arms around the mouth. Eight of them are relatively short, and two, which form the tentacles are long, as they are used to catch prey. The fourth left arm of males is a hectocotylus. The European Squid can grow up to 30 to 40 cm of the mantle length, but their normally they are 15 to 25 cm in length. The males are generally bigger than the females and habve more rapd rates of growth.
The colour of the European Squid is greyish-transparent or reddish, depending on expansion of the chromatophores in the dermis. Males have small chromatophores on their mantle[3]..
[edit] Habitat
The European Squid is a neritic, semi-demersal species, which undertakes distinct horizontal and vertical migrations, depending on the environment. In the Adriatic, European Squid, can be found above various of substrates; from sandy through to the muddy bottoms[4].
[edit] Biology
This species can be found at depths from the surface to approximately 500 m, but it is most abundant between 20 and 250 m; deeper during the winter months. The population in the northeastern Atlantic spends the winter in deeper waters off Portugal, then moves towards the coast of France in spring, before migrating farther north into the North Sea during May and June where they spawn in depths ranging from 20 to 80 m. A southward migration takes place in autumn. The population found off the Morrocan and Wester Sahara similarly spends the winter months in deeper offshore waters and moves inshore tp spawn in spring and autumn. The main juvenil recruitment is in February and March and between July and September. In the western Mediterranean, European squid move into deeper water in late autumn; the largest individuals commence their inshore migration as early as in January and February, while the smaller indiviuals wait until summer.
The spawning season extends for most of the year but climaxes in early summer and early autumn. Females lay up to 20000 small eggswhich are deposited in gelatinous tubes containing tens of eggs which they attach to debris and other solid objects on sandy to muddy bottoms. Thye incubation period is dependant on temperature and is between 25 days (at 22° C) and 45 days (at 12 to 14°C). The size of the male determines the number (up to 800) and size of spermatophores. Males that are reproducing for the second time usually carry more than those reproducing for the first time.
Growthin both sexes is temperature dependant and is therefore faster in summer than in winter; the males grow faster then females. In the Atlantic, young squid harched in June reach around 12 cm mantle length by December and have grown to 13 or 14 cm in the following April. By August, males attain a mantle length of 17.5 cm and, if they reach the following April, 21 cm, compared to 17 cm in females. Life expetancy is 2 years in females and about 3 years in males.
European squid are predators on fishes and crustaceans. Cannibalism is common[5].
[edit] Fisheries
The European Squid is a commercially valuable species, it is caught in multispecies trawl fishing throughout the year and, seasonally, in small scale and recreational fishing with a variety of gear.
In the Adriatic Sea, the total annual catch of the species is around 1.000 to 1.500 tonnes. This is very variable and is probably linked to the annual reproduction cycle that is typical for many cephalopods.
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Egg mass
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Embryo
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Embryo
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juvenile
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[edit] References
- ^ Vecchione, M. & R.E. Young. (2010). Loligo reynaudii Orbigny 1845. The Tree of Life Web Project.
- ^ http://data.nbn.org.uk/gridMap/gridMap.jsp?allDs=1&srchSpKey=NBNSYS0000176230
- ^ http://www.faoadriamed.org/html/Species/LoligoVulgaris.html
- ^ http://www.faoadriamed.org/html/Species/LoligoVulgaris.html
- ^ http://tolweb.org/Loligo_vulgaris/19866
- Vecchione, M., E. Shea, S. Bussarawit, F. Anderson, D. Alexeyev, C.-C. Lu, T. Okutani, M. Roeleveld, C. Chotiyaputta, C. Roper, E. Jorgensen & N. Sukramongkol. (2005). Systematics of Indo-West Pacific loliginids.PDF Phuket Marine Biological Center Research Bulletin 66: 23–26.
[edit] External links
- CephBase: European squid (Loligo vulgaris reynaudi)
- CephBase: European squid (Loligo vulgaris vulgaris)
- Charles Maxwell videos
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